Hillary Clinton has a great laugh.

When I hear people say one of their problems with the Senator is that she seems "cold," I always think of the wonderful laugh that emerges from her when something really strikes her as funny. For example, when, during a Democratic presidential candidates debate this past June in Manchester, New Hampshire, the candidates were asked what role former President Bill Clinton would play in a Democratic administration. Former Alaskan Sen. Mike Gravel said he'd use the prez as a traveling goodwill ambassador. "He can take his wife with him," he added. "She'll still be in the Senate!" Everybody laughed, but especially Hillary, with throaty vigor. I found it charming.

But this isn't about Hillary and her suitability (or otherwise) to be president. One might say she has what should be one of the major requirements for the job-a brain she actually uses-but considering our current commander in chief that's not saying much. This is about the public perception of her. I still bristle when I think of how she was demonized while her husband was in office (and don't get me started on how they treated Chelsea). Though I thought having a non-traditional first lady was cool, others sniped away, until she unhappily fell into the position of Wronged Wife, which apparently the traditionalists approved of (at least it was a role they could understand).

But she emerges fully human in Carl Bernstein's A Woman in Charge (Knopf). There's much new information, even for a Clinton-o-phile like me, with all kinds of trivia regarding her life pre-Bill Clinton (in high school, she won a prom date by gamely jumping on a skateboard). And most especially, how her childhood formed her later character. Her church youth group leader stressed the importance of doing "good works"; as a Christian, it was your duty to go out there and make the world a better place. It was an ethos that had a ready parallel in the rise of the political activism of the '60s, and it's a strong element of both Clintons' characters, something that's overlooked by detractors who prefer to see them as solely interested in self-glory.

The book's critical too, such as in examining Hillary's stubbornness and the missteps during the initial years of the Clinton administration. And one wishes Bernstein had covered her senatorial years in more depth. But overall, I found it an incisive portrait of the Junior Senator from New York. But it sure makes Washington D.C. seem like a most unpleasant place to live or work.

Had the chance for a quick word with Steve Buscemi during the recent Seattle International Film Festival, following the screening of Interview, which he directed, co-wrote, and starred in. The film is a remake of a Dutch film by Theo Van Gogh (a descendant of Vincent Van Gogh's brother), who was murdered by an Islamic fundamentalist in 2004. On meeting Buscemi, I told him I'd just been reading a book about Van Gogh's murder. "I think we read the same book," Steve replied and we said in unison, "Murder in Amsterdam!" (by Ian Buruma). Interview depicts a verbal wrestling match between a hard news reporter, Pierre (Buscemi), who's stuck interviewing TV actress Katya (Sienna Miller). Katya's quick to pick up on Pierre's condescension (not to mention his unfamiliarity with her work), and, when circumstances lead to Pierre's being tended to in Katya's loft, the games begin. What's fascinating about this cat-and-mouse skirmish is that the roles keep changing; similar to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, except neither party emerges as a clear victor. The film also keeps you guessing, as the emotional secrets being revealed turn out to be not quite what you thought they were. And both Buscemi and Miller are excellent in their roles, undoubtedly drawing on their own experience in interview situations (though Buscemi hasn't gone through tabloid follies the way Miller has in the UK, he admitted that interviews were one of his least favorite things to do). Interview gets a full theatrical run in Seattle this month. As a child, Tom Jones's "It's Not Unusual" and "What's New Pussycat?" both fascinated me (in the latter case, because the song mentioned cats), so I've been having great fun with the This Is Tom Jones DVD set (Time/Life), which has eight episodes of the show. I guess the only equivalent of the variety show we have today is dreck like American Idol; but in fairness, not every aspect of the old school-style variety shows, even classics like The Ed Sullivan Show, has aged well. In the case of the Tom Jones shows, that means you can skip through all the comedy sketches to get to the good stuff-the musical performances. There's the Who, Joe Cocker, and the Moody Blues, but what's really exciting is when Jones sings with musical guests like Little Richard, Janis Joplin, and Aretha Franklin-and you know you've got to be a strong performer to hold your own against those talents. Jones's solo spots also prove once again he's one of the best "white soul" singers around.